Variety Actor’s Studio: The Best of TV and Film in 2013

TV Actress

The Actor

The Actor

The Actress

The Actress

Supporting Actor

Supporting Actor

Supporting Actress

Supporting Actress

TV Actress

TV Actress

The Actor

The Actor

The Actress

The Actress

Supporting Actor

Supporting Actor

Supporting Actress

Supporting Actress

TV Actress

TV Actress

Taylor Schilling, “Orange Is the New Black”

“Sometimes, I feel like even in the talks of something, I want to know that people see me and want what I have to bring to the table. Kind of a big fear for me is showing up on set one day and having people say, ‘Who the hell brought this girl in here?’”

Lizzy Caplan, “Masters of Sex”

“We get rejected so often that I think it does build up this necessary outer shell in order to just continue doing this. I see friends now that don’t get a job and they’re gutted for two weeks. You just didn’t get one job? I didn’t get 50 jobs last month!”

Anna Faris, “Mom”

“I’ve been a part of a lot of projects that I have known during the making of maybe weren’t of the best quality, but I’m always thankful for every job. But this is a project that I feel truly proud of and it’s given me a different kind of fulfillment. I like this job so much that it terrifies me.”

Mads Mikkelsen, “The Hunt”

“The biggest difference to go from a small budget Danish film to American was the amount of people you said “Good morning” to, and how many people aren’t looking you in the eyes all of the sudden .. We’re trying to make it intimate every time, whether we’re fighting giant scorpions or sitting in a church.”

David Oweloyo, “Lee Daniels’ The Butler”

“You want to be terrified. You want to be challenged, and you want to be given the responsibility of cracking open what it is to be a human being. It’s difficult territory, especially if you’re working with uncompromising, visionary filmmakers who you know are going to demand things of you that you probably don’t even know is in there. “

Dane Dehaan, “Kill Your Darlings”

“I find a lot of times, the roles that you really want are the roles that everyone else really wants. And there’s always going to be at least ten people at or above you amount of success that also want to play that part. So you still do have to fight for a lot of them.”

Dermot Mulroney, “August: Osage County”

“I’ve been in scenes with Julia [Roberts] and Meryl Streep and Chris Cooper, but then I get to sit back and watch them do their part of it. It’s good sometimes to be that, because then you can actually enjoy the movie, because if you’re in every scene, it’s a different experience when you’re watching it.”

Adele Exarchopoulos, “Blue Is the Warmest Color”

“When there is not a lot of money, everybody’s really here to create. It’s different motivation and you find kind of a trance energy, like a dance, and it’s special. And you remember why you like to do this.”

Greta Gerwig, “Frances Ha”

“If only men are writing and directing movies, it’s very hard to be anything other than in their gaze and you’re in the masculine kind of point of view. I’m not saying this as a blanket statement, but I think it’s very hard to see women as anything other than objects as long as they’re not part of the authorship.”

Brie Larson, “Short Term 12”

“I think it’s a miracle when (an audition) goes well. If you have any sort of intelligence it just doesn’t make any sense to you. It doesn’t make any sense why the process to get into a film … is based on this specific time period with these lines.”

Julie Delpy, “Before Midnight”

“I can’t take a one-dimensional female character. It’s unbearable for me. I see all those complex women around me and I see those flat characters on film, and I just don’t want this anymore.”

Kathryn Hahn, “Afternoon Delight”

“I don’t know if I would have gotten this had it been an audition. It’s one of those that you think about; they’re some of the most special ones, that mean the most. I think I would have just sabotaged myself in some way.”

John Goodman, “Inside Llewyn Davis”

“I’ve had so many bad (auditions). Even some of the good ones were bad. You just go in there with the feeling of ‘I’m not going to get this anyway.’ But after awhile, it just kind of runs off of your back. If it’s something else I’m not going to get, at least I showed up.”

Colin Farrell, “Saving Mr. Banks”

“It kinds of feels at times that acting lends itself to obsession a little bit. Some of the work done through the years is done in hotel rooms or at home in the wee hours of the morning, and trying to sleep and not being able to sleep, and scribbling notes that you feel may never be used or have any relevance.”

Barkhad Abdi, “Captain Phillips”

“Working with Paul Greengrass was just a very wonderful experience for me because I was very scared at the beginning when I got the part and when we got on set. It was really nerve-wrecking for me. It’s just such a big part, and Paul, through time, he just calmed me down. “

Geoffrey Rush, “The Book Thief”

“We suffered bitter winter on the backlot of Babelsburg, the studio building. I think it was the coldest winter in Germany for 60 years or something, to the point where the streets they built for our little town, the paint kept freezing on the scenery and peeling off.”

James Franco, “Spring Breakers”

“As a young actor, I didn’t get along with my directors very well because I just didn’t understand how it worked and then I realized, well, if I just sign on the project with people I believe in, it treats it like an art form, like I’m collaborating with artists I believe in and that’s it. It’s not for anything else other than to make great art.”

Chris Cooper, “August: Osage County”

“Fear is not a bad thing for me. I run on fear. If I’m going to spend time working on a film away from home and family and all, I got to find something I’m passionate about and I want to bring that passion from action. That’s when it all happens.”

Julianne Nicholson, “August: Osage County”

“I’ve never met a more generous actress than Meryl Streep. It gave me a huge sense of validation. I’ve been working for a long, long time — not always in things people see. To feel welcomed, like you belong with people of that talent and reputation is a huge gift.”

June Squibb, “Nebraska”

“I grew up in a small town with farmland surrounding. This script felt very familiar to me. And I knew this woman, I understood why she was doing what she was doing. I think it was just in my genes.”

Jennifer Garner, “Dallas Buyers Club”

“I got to work with Matthew (McConaughey) and Jared (Leto), giving the performances of their lives — well the performances of my life, to watch. They put themselves in a dangerous emotional place. I’ve never felt the term ‘supporting’ in a more honest way.”

Zoe Saldana, “Out of the Furnace”

“I’m from New York. And I miss that process of putting myself on tape. You can be as bold as you want to be when they’re not in the room. And if they didn’t like it and they laugh at you, you don’t have to deal with it ever!”

Sarah Paulson, “12 Years a Slave”

“The stuff I was doing with Michael (Fassbender), he’s very dangerous. He’s like a wire that’s been cut and is flying all around. He’s alive, spontaneous and dangerous. You have to have your feet planted and be ready to spring at any moment.”

Melissa Leo, “Prisoners”

“You have to inhabit her. People who do horrendous things, part of how they do it is they don’t recognize what they’re doing. You have to go inside of her, and be there.”

Malin Akerman, “Trophy Wife”

“We’re four women on this show, and everyone has been commenting on how much fun it’s been to watch the dynamics between these women. And it’s not catty, and it’s not what people always sort of categorize women as. It’s helpful, and it’s positive and it’s fun to watch

Alexa Davalos, “Mob City”

“It’s impossible to tell how it’s going to be received. As soon as you do what we do and we let go, it’s out of our hands, you kind of send it off into the ether. It’s terrifying, but it’s very exciting. It’s hard to say. You don’t want to have too much expectation.”

Sarah Michelle Gellar, “The Crazy Ones”

“I started in television and I thought all women’s roles were three-dimensional like that. And so I started to do movies and I was like, ‘Wait — am I their girlfriend, the wife, or the daughter?’ Television is where women excel, where women drive the story and where women are three-dimensional.”

Taylor Schilling, “Orange Is the New Black”

“Sometimes, I feel like even in the talks of something, I want to know that people see me and want what I have to bring to the table. Kind of a big fear for me is showing up on set one day and having people say, ‘Who the hell brought this girl in here?’”

Lizzy Caplan, “Masters of Sex”

“We get rejected so often that I think it does build up this necessary outer shell in order to just continue doing this. I see friends now that don’t get a job and they’re gutted for two weeks. You just didn’t get one job? I didn’t get 50 jobs last month!”

Anna Faris, “Mom”

“I’ve been a part of a lot of projects that I have known during the making of maybe weren’t of the best quality, but I’m always thankful for every job. But this is a project that I feel truly proud of and it’s given me a different kind of fulfillment. I like this job so much that it terrifies me.”

Mads Mikkelsen, “The Hunt”

“The biggest difference to go from a small budget Danish film to American was the amount of people you said “Good morning” to, and how many people aren’t looking you in the eyes all of the sudden .. We’re trying to make it intimate every time, whether we’re fighting giant scorpions or sitting in a church.”

David Oweloyo, “Lee Daniels’ The Butler”

“You want to be terrified. You want to be challenged, and you want to be given the responsibility of cracking open what it is to be a human being. It’s difficult territory, especially if you’re working with uncompromising, visionary filmmakers who you know are going to demand things of you that you probably don’t even know is in there. “

Dane Dehaan, “Kill Your Darlings”

“I find a lot of times, the roles that you really want are the roles that everyone else really wants. And there’s always going to be at least ten people at or above you amount of success that also want to play that part. So you still do have to fight for a lot of them.”

Dermot Mulroney, “August: Osage County”

“I’ve been in scenes with Julia [Roberts] and Meryl Streep and Chris Cooper, but then I get to sit back and watch them do their part of it. It’s good sometimes to be that, because then you can actually enjoy the movie, because if you’re in every scene, it’s a different experience when you’re watching it.”

Adele Exarchopoulos, “Blue Is the Warmest Color”

“When there is not a lot of money, everybody’s really here to create. It’s different motivation and you find kind of a trance energy, like a dance, and it’s special. And you remember why you like to do this.”

Greta Gerwig, “Frances Ha”

“If only men are writing and directing movies, it’s very hard to be anything other than in their gaze and you’re in the masculine kind of point of view. I’m not saying this as a blanket statement, but I think it’s very hard to see women as anything other than objects as long as they’re not part of the authorship.”

Brie Larson, “Short Term 12”

“I think it’s a miracle when (an audition) goes well. If you have any sort of intelligence it just doesn’t make any sense to you. It doesn’t make any sense why the process to get into a film … is based on this specific time period with these lines.”

Julie Delpy, “Before Midnight”

“I can’t take a one-dimensional female character. It’s unbearable for me. I see all those complex women around me and I see those flat characters on film, and I just don’t want this anymore.”

Kathryn Hahn, “Afternoon Delight”

“I don’t know if I would have gotten this had it been an audition. It’s one of those that you think about; they’re some of the most special ones, that mean the most. I think I would have just sabotaged myself in some way.”

John Goodman, “Inside Llewyn Davis”

“I’ve had so many bad (auditions). Even some of the good ones were bad. You just go in there with the feeling of ‘I’m not going to get this anyway.’ But after awhile, it just kind of runs off of your back. If it’s something else I’m not going to get, at least I showed up.”

Colin Farrell, “Saving Mr. Banks”

“It kinds of feels at times that acting lends itself to obsession a little bit. Some of the work done through the years is done in hotel rooms or at home in the wee hours of the morning, and trying to sleep and not being able to sleep, and scribbling notes that you feel may never be used or have any relevance.”

Barkhad Abdi, “Captain Phillips”

“Working with Paul Greengrass was just a very wonderful experience for me because I was very scared at the beginning when I got the part and when we got on set. It was really nerve-wrecking for me. It’s just such a big part, and Paul, through time, he just calmed me down. “

Geoffrey Rush, “The Book Thief”

“We suffered bitter winter on the backlot of Babelsburg, the studio building. I think it was the coldest winter in Germany for 60 years or something, to the point where the streets they built for our little town, the paint kept freezing on the scenery and peeling off.”

James Franco, “Spring Breakers”

“As a young actor, I didn’t get along with my directors very well because I just didn’t understand how it worked and then I realized, well, if I just sign on the project with people I believe in, it treats it like an art form, like I’m collaborating with artists I believe in and that’s it. It’s not for anything else other than to make great art.”

Chris Cooper, “August: Osage County”

“Fear is not a bad thing for me. I run on fear. If I’m going to spend time working on a film away from home and family and all, I got to find something I’m passionate about and I want to bring that passion from action. That’s when it all happens.”

Julianne Nicholson, “August: Osage County”

“I’ve never met a more generous actress than Meryl Streep. It gave me a huge sense of validation. I’ve been working for a long, long time — not always in things people see. To feel welcomed, like you belong with people of that talent and reputation is a huge gift.”

June Squibb, “Nebraska”

“I grew up in a small town with farmland surrounding. This script felt very familiar to me. And I knew this woman, I understood why she was doing what she was doing. I think it was just in my genes.”

Jennifer Garner, “Dallas Buyers Club”

“I got to work with Matthew (McConaughey) and Jared (Leto), giving the performances of their lives — well the performances of my life, to watch. They put themselves in a dangerous emotional place. I’ve never felt the term ‘supporting’ in a more honest way.”

Zoe Saldana, “Out of the Furnace”

“I’m from New York. And I miss that process of putting myself on tape. You can be as bold as you want to be when they’re not in the room. And if they didn’t like it and they laugh at you, you don’t have to deal with it ever!”

Sarah Paulson, “12 Years a Slave”

“The stuff I was doing with Michael (Fassbender), he’s very dangerous. He’s like a wire that’s been cut and is flying all around. He’s alive, spontaneous and dangerous. You have to have your feet planted and be ready to spring at any moment.”

Melissa Leo, “Prisoners”

“You have to inhabit her. People who do horrendous things, part of how they do it is they don’t recognize what they’re doing. You have to go inside of her, and be there.”

Malin Akerman, “Trophy Wife”

“We’re four women on this show, and everyone has been commenting on how much fun it’s been to watch the dynamics between these women. And it’s not catty, and it’s not what people always sort of categorize women as. It’s helpful, and it’s positive and it’s fun to watch

Alexa Davalos, “Mob City”

“It’s impossible to tell how it’s going to be received. As soon as you do what we do and we let go, it’s out of our hands, you kind of send it off into the ether. It’s terrifying, but it’s very exciting. It’s hard to say. You don’t want to have too much expectation.”

Sarah Michelle Gellar, “The Crazy Ones”

“I started in television and I thought all women’s roles were three-dimensional like that. And so I started to do movies and I was like, ‘Wait — am I their girlfriend, the wife, or the daughter?’ Television is where women excel, where women drive the story and where women are three-dimensional.”

Taylor Schilling, “Orange Is the New Black”

“Sometimes, I feel like even in the talks of something, I want to know that people see me and want what I have to bring to the table. Kind of a big fear for me is showing up on set one day and having people say, ‘Who the hell brought this girl in here?’”

Lizzy Caplan, “Masters of Sex”

“We get rejected so often that I think it does build up this necessary outer shell in order to just continue doing this. I see friends now that don’t get a job and they’re gutted for two weeks. You just didn’t get one job? I didn’t get 50 jobs last month!”

Anna Faris, “Mom”

“I’ve been a part of a lot of projects that I have known during the making of maybe weren’t of the best quality, but I’m always thankful for every job. But this is a project that I feel truly proud of and it’s given me a different kind of fulfillment. I like this job so much that it terrifies me.”